WITHAM'S Olly Murs admitted he was a "plonker" after he told an X-Factor contestant she was going home before the result was officially announced.

After Murs and his co-host Caroline Flack asked the judges to choose who they wanted to send home between Monica Michael and Anton Stephans, Murs told Michael she was eliminated, before Flack said: "No, Olly, she's not."

Murs then said: "Sorry. I apologise for that. Sorry Monica. I do apologise."

It appeared Murs thought three out of the four judges had opted to send Michael home, meaning that she would have been automatically out of the competition but, as two judges had voted for each contestant, the "deadlock" was decided by the public vote.

Flack then announced: "The act who received the fewest votes from the public and who will be leaving the competition tonight is ...it's Monica Michael."

After the show, Murs tweeted: "I apologise to everyone tonight I made a massive f%#k up at the end. It was so tense!! I'm still learning & hope that never happens again!"

Former X Factor host Dermot O'Leary, who grew up in Colchester, tweeted support, saying: "Didn't see the show tonight,but live TV is a tricky old beast at times. After this weekend... perhaps some sense of context should prevail."

Murs then replied: "Cheers Derm!! Beating myself up about it mate! What a plonker!"

An X Factor spokesman said: "As Olly said himself on Twitter, it was a genuine mistake."